This story from the NYT (click for the link) was sent to me by Paul Monheimer, and it ticks many of the boxes required for a good Coverslip post - science, technology, neuroscience, education etc.
Pens that record audio or use "e-ink" to link parts of written documents to computer files or to upload written notes onto your computer have been around for a while, and always struck me as rather gimmicky. It seems, however, that this latest incarnation has real promise for enhancing teaching and learning if used carefully (as with all technology, we should use it to enhance learning rather than as a novelty which quickly loses its appeal). It does, however, raise a question that I have often thought about - if we have all these devices doing our remembering for us, what is happening to our ability to store memories in both the short and long term? Whilst highly apocryphal and unscientific, personal experience leads me to suspect that I rely on technology in place of simply remembering things: how many phone numbers can you recall without referring to your phone? How many addresses do you know off the top of your head? Do you ever forget appointments if your planner doesn't beep at you? Perhaps it is simply down to aging, but I'm convinced I used to remember a lot more things before I had all these devices around me........
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